Friends Forever
by The Gone Angel
Summary: Grace finally had two friends, but the candle can only be lit for so long without it dying on the inside...(For Sri's Remembering Grace contest!) (May be OOC, sorry)


**Disclaimer: I don't own 39 Clues.**

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Grace Cahill traced the cover of the book, the dustiness sticking to her fingertips. She couldn't tell her sister, Beatrice, about this mission or she would freak out and lock her in the house. She didn't want her to worry so much, because this was the life she chose. To help the Madrigals with their latest project: Figuring out how to hide the clues all over the world. She didn't find the plan to be insane, she found it to be an adventure.

She loved adventures, often escaping without permission to help out her branch. Mostly, it caused a bunch of chaos until the end, where she helped out her branch- even though she made plenty of mistakes along the way; she was human, after all.

Now, she was in England, attending to business in one of the libraries. She looked up from her book, her gaze darting around the room. She was sitting on a blue beanbag, attempting to look normal so she could steal this book in peace. Grace knew it sounded quite absurd just to steal the book instead of borrow it like a normal person, but she wasn't normal.

She knew this book was guarded by the Vespers, the people who worked in this certain library. They have it out and never let anyone borrow it, for the sake of Cahills finding the prize they stole. She stood up, quickly, but not quick enough to alert much attention. Her black heels clinked against the slippery and smooth floors, holding the book under her arm. Ignoring some staring, she continued her strolling towards the exit.

She went past the security, and the loud alarm went off. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the confused people look around, freaking out. She made it her time to run even faster, out the doors.

"Come back!" the person behind the desk yelled loudly, "Bloody hell, someone get that child!" That urged Grace to run even faster, slipping off those terrible high heels and throwing them behind her. Her reddish brown hair waved wildly behind her as she raced through the pouring rain, biting her lip. She was determined to outrun the two Vespers behind her, who she was sure had weapons on them.

Grace almost wished she threw the pointy high heels at their faces. She held the book under her heavy raincoat, ignoring the rain drizzling down her face and the lightning snapping across the sky. A crack of thunder sounded, lighting up the sky and making her heart pound faster as she turned the corner sharply, seeing a bakery up ahead. She blinked the rain out of her jade eyes, trying to think of a plan to lose the two Vespers.

She saw a boy walking down the streets, looking at the ground. She grinned slightly, it could possibly hurt someone, but it would work if she was next to someone else. She pretended to not notice where she was going, letting the rain purposely fill her vision. She blindly ran right into the boy, who slipped on the slippery ground and landed on the hard street with an _oof!_

Grace blinked, staring down at the boy. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "These strangers are chasing me and I was too afraid to know where I was going...They want my money...anyway, are you alright?"

The boy had dark brown hair and green eyes. His hair was spiked up in the front with gel, which Grace told herself not to snicker at. She held out a hand, and he grasped it. "I'm fine, nothing terrible," he said hastily, "I wasn't really watching where I was going either. I was in a deep thought. Who are these strangers you speak of?"

He lifted himself of the ground, then tried to shake the dirty water from his clothes, but failing. Grace pursed her lips, pointing over to where the two Vespers were, leaning against the wall to stay a distance from her since she was with the boy. Like she planned. She smiled slightly at her success. "Those are them," she muttered, adjusting the book in her hands.

The boy stared at the book, a curious glint in his eyes. "Why do you have that book?" he asked slowly, "It's never been allowed to be touched, even. It was on a display...You stole it, didn't you?"

Grace managed a straight face. "My family has connections, and I was allowed to borrow it," she replied. She knew she could easily get out of this, she learnt to lie since she was very young- even though it was something she never liked using the skill of lying much. She was an honest child, but when it came to helping to save the world from the destruction of Cahills and Vespers, she would do anything.

Even lie just a bit to innocent people.

She was surprised to see he didn't buy her lie one bit. "If you were around here, you would have a British accent," the boy pointed out, "I know you stole it...I'll make a deal with you." Grace pondered on just running away from the boy, but he knew what she looked like and the book she stole. The branch wouldn't be able to get her out of this one.

"What's the deal, then?" she questioned warily, "I really don't have the time for this, you know..." The boy only grinned mischievously, making her slightly worried about the deal he was about to give.

"If I don't tell on you, you let me join whatever you're doing," the boy said shyly, "I love history, and I also love adventures."

Grace frowned. "It's family business, I can't let you join..." she muttered, not willing to risk this boy's life to put him in the chaos. She understood the feeling of desperately craving adventure all the time, and she wondered if this normal looking British boy was the same.

The boy simply raised an eyebrow. "So you call family business stealing books off shelves of an England library?" he said, sarcasm laced in his words. Grace bristled, annoyed he didn't see how much she was begging for him to leave it at that, and to stop bugging her about joining her mission.

"No, we _kill_," she replied simply, hoping that would scare him away. The boy rolled his eyes.

"So you live with people murdering innocents for business? I'd say that's quite...interesting," he remarked, running a hand through his hair. "You surely are a weird family, then."

Grace narrowed her eyes, trying not to get so temperamental with him. "Fine..." she murmured, "You can join, but I'll have to tell you everything."

The boy nodded proudly, smirking at his achievement. "I'm Daniel, but I go by Danny. And you are?" he asked, like it was a normal, despite the fact she was going to share all the Cahill and Vesper information with some stranger who could possibly be a Cahill himself, sent to kill her. Plus, the rain was soaking both of them to the bone, chilling them.

But, she managed a small, weak smile. "I'm Grace Cahill. Should we discuss this in the bakery?" she said.

"Sure," Danny agreed.

The two rain-soaked teens made their way towards the comfy bakery at the end of the street, each wearing a small smile on their face. One was able to finally explore the world, but both found a great friend in another.

Thus began the mark of an unusual friendship between a Cahill and a non-Cahill.

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"So...you're trying to get this book because it has an undiscovered code inside of it?" Danny confirmed, leaning against the glass window. They were sitting near the door, so they could run easier if they needed to. Danny took a sip of his tea after Grace nodded.

"You make it sound simple," mused Grace, a slight smile gracing her features. The warm lights of the bakery warmed them up, along with the heat from the heaters around the place. The bakery was small, but neat and clean. It had caramel colored walls, and vanilla white tables and counters, along with light brown booths for the tables. The floors were tile, and the bakery managed to look like a small kitchen and dining room.

Like home.

Grace sipped her hot chocolate, staring outside the window to keep an eye on those Vespers. Vespers never give up with striking multiple times, each blow being fatal. Her cheeks were a rosy red from being in the cold, then being in a warm building, and her nose was a light pink. She pulled out a tissue and sneezed. "Is England always like this? Today was my first day here for the week," she murmured.

Danny chuckled, "Yeah, it mostly is. I'm surprised you didn't think of checking the weather here." Even though Grace gave him all the information in under an hour, it still unnerved her how he wasn't afraid in the slightest over all the people in this world, who could possibly be a Vesper or Cahill. She didn't trust Danny yet, even though he was very friendly and even offered to pay for their drinks and muffins.

The waitress put the bill on their table, pursing her lips. "Here's the bill," she blurted out, interrupting the short conversation. Grace wished she didn't have to be so loud about it. Then, the waitress slid into the booth, shoving Danny to the end.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, "You can't just push me!" The waitress laughed at his protests for her to leave them alone. Grace patiently stared at the waitress, realizing how young the girl looked. She looked thirteen or fourteen.

"Hello, Grace," the waitress said with a smirk, flipping her dirty blonde hair back over her shoulder. "You should remember me. We fought recently..." Grace smiled at the waitress, still not having a clue of who she was.

"I fight with a lot of people," Grace drawled out, rolling her eyes. She needed to start business, and couldn't wait on some strange waitress who knew her name to put her business back farther than it was before.

The waitress sighed. "Obviously, since you're a puny Cahill," she declared, disinterestedly. She wore a cold smirk on her face, and her eyes glittered strangely, in a dark way. "I want in on your adventure, Grace. It's about time you've noticed me."

"I never noticed you anyway," mumbled Grace, "You can't join anything."

The waitress unsheathed a butcher knife. "Then Danny is dead," she hissed, "You'll be all alone on your mission, with guilt of an innocent murdered." Danny's eyes widened, turning a bit pale. Grace bit her lip, knowing that most of the branches would tell her to ditch Danny and let him die...

But, she wasn't them.

"Alright, you may join," Grace responded, and the waitress pocketed her butcher knife, grinning widely.

"Awesome. We all got off on a bad start! I'm Bronze, and YES, that's name. My parents suck," Bronze ranted. Danny just slammed his head on the table in irritation, while Grace cocked her head, interested in Bronze's words.

"What a mouthful," murmured Grace, sliding out of her booth. "What branch are you?"

"Vesper, Janus, and Ekat," Bronze explained, "Long story!" Danny spit out his tea.

"Vespers are evil, Grace! Aren't they?" he exclaimed, "You can't let her join!"

Grace sighed, knowing this would happen. Bronze and Danny glared at each other harshly, venom clear in both eyes. "...Bronze stays in, Danny. You'll have to deal with her," Grace chided to the two teens.

This marked an unbreakable bond between the three as their mission progressed from that simple rainy day, the day a bigger friendship started, with a Vesper, a Cahill, and a non-Cahill.

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The three sighed, glancing at each other. The week was almost finished, and Grace was ready to fly back to America tomorrow. Grace knew Bronze was flying back to Switzerland later today, so she decided since their mission was complete, because they cracked the code and got the Vespers off their backs, that today called for a celebration.

Grace was going to take Danny and Bronze to a movie, since she knew it would be entertaining for all of them. Throughout the few days, she bonded with the two, and felt like they were another brother and sister. "Are you sure I don't need to pay for anything?" Danny questioned Grace as they arrived at the movies from taking the two mile walk there.

Bronze rolled her eyes, laughing. "Just take the gift, Danny, or I'm sure Grace will punch your face in," she cautioned in a teasing tone. Danny slowly backed away from Grace dramatically, as Bronze and Grace laughed at Danny's dramatic actions. Grace was happy to finally have some friends, since the business never made friends, you just had business partners.

She was surprised neither of them suddenly betrayed her like she expected them to. It felt nice to not be betrayed for once...Then again, they could always betray her today. Grace shook her head stubbornly. They wouldn't betray her, that was her mind being scared and unreasonable. She needed to put faith in her two friends, so she would give them the same trust they gave her.

They entered the movies, so Grace stopped pondering on betrayal. She ordered buttered popcorn, some candy- what the UK called 'sweets'- and three sodas. Giddily, Bronze stuffed popcorn in her mouth and ran up to people, mouth open. Danny and Grace snickered at her craziness.

"I blame the coffee I treated both of you to this early morning," Danny replied, grinning. Grace smiled, happy to see her friends were both happy and healthy after that crazy mission. Grace grabbed the drinks, Bronze grabbed the popcorn, and Danny grabbed the candy, going to sit down and watch some horror movie that was supposed to be amazing.

They sat down, seeing half the seats were full. They didn't know the movie was this popular...The advertisements showed across the screen, and Danny ate candy, bored and wanting the movie to start already.

Then, Grace smelled something burning in the movie theater, and before she could react, the room was on fire. People screamed, terrified, as their seats caught fire, the flames licking around their bodies. Grace quickly grabbed Danny's arm, and Bronze's wrist, running through the crowds of screaming people. The water sprinkled down upon the flames, but that made them grow larger.

Within a second, Grace realized that was oil, not water! She heard a scream, then saw Bronze's hair on fire. Danny poured soda on her head, but the flames only died a bit on her head, as they burnt her through. Grace pulled Danny away from trying to help Bronze, ignoring his yelling and thrashing. The whole building was on fire, and they only had a limited amount of time before all of them were burnt to crisp like Bronze and a few others. Grace guiltily glanced behind her, to see a bloody version of Bronze laying on the floor, fire dancing around her.

Grace bit her lip, pushing past people who weren't on fire, still holding onto...Danny?! "I need to save Bronze!" he shouted near Bronze, as fire burnt through his jeans, burning at his legs. "Oh my god!"

Grace winced, exiting the room. She knew the Vespers did this to her friends, and they would experience that pain she felt, leaving her friends behind to die. She continued running from the movie theater, and jumped outside, tears stinging her eyes as she fell to the ground, ashes clinging to her body. She coughed, closing her eyes, ignoring the burn on her arm.

"I will see you two again," she rasped weakly to the sky. "You...you guys will be alive. You will survive, you are both are my friends! You two are so...so...tough."

With that, Grace closed her eyes.

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Grace licked the chocolate ice cream cone, then smashed the rest in Danny's face. Bronze roared with laughter, and Danny glared at her, then threw his vanilla cone at her face. Bronze glared at him, put her cone in her mouth, then spat it all over Danny. The three glared at each other, then laughed loudly, dusturbing everyone around them.

"We are great friends, aren't we?" exclaimed Bronze, putting her arms around Danny and Grace. Confused, Grace looked at her.

"...Friends?" chorused Danny and Grace together.

"Yeah! We are friends forever," Bronze said, then lowered her voice, "...Right?" Her voice broke after that, biting her lip.

"Of course we are," Danny replied, "But, more than forever. We'll be friends even longer...right, Grace?"

Grace smiled widely.

"Right. Friends even longer than forever."

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Grace woke up, seeing white and silver of the hospital. She blinked, her gaze darting around the room. What was she doing here in the hospital? Then she realized...the fire...her two friends...

Grace swung out of the bed. Nurses glanced up, then rushed towards her.

"You can't leave..."

"You have to stay put here forever!"

"You can't move from this spot, honey."

Grace screamed at them, her face streaked with soot, wet tears, and ashes. She screamed that she needed to see where Bronze and Danny were, if they were alright, if they were in this room with her. She ignored the nurses feeble attempts to calm her as she violently shook with sobs.

It wasn't even longer than forever...it was only for less than a week...

"I need to see them," she commanded, wiping her tears away, suddenly looking completely fine.

"Who...?" the nurse asked, confused.

"My friends, Daniel and Bronze," she muttered, growing worried. Her only friends she's ever had weren't in her sight.

"But...dear, you're the only one who survived."

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_"We'll be friends forever, won't we, Pooh?" Piglet asked._

_"Even longer," Pooh answered._

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Grace smiled down at the little boy, who had dirty blonde hair and jade green eyes. She looked over at Arthur and Amy. then glanced down at Hope. "Dear, I have a good name. How does Daniel Cahill sound to you?"

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**That mess was all based off that simple quote about being friends forever. I really screwed this up, didn't I? **

**For Sri's Remembering Grace contest.**

**Dedicated to Danny44 (Cheri) and CelestialBronzeLightning (Fire Dragon/Bronze), two of my friends.**

**I hoped you enjoyed my one-shot, Sri, and my readers.**

**-Gone :D**


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